Nigerian minister confirms construction plans for second Niger Bridge over Onitsha

14 February 2012

Mike Onolememen, the Nigerian minister for works, has confirmed that the construction of a second Niger Bridge over Onitsha, Anambra State, will cost the government as much as N100 billion.

Mr Onolememen confirmed his determination to improve the state of the country's roads when he featured in the Pilot Newspaper Leadership Forum in Abuja, sunnewsonline.com has reported.

According to the minister for works, the construction project is key to transportation in the Nigerian capital and the wider economy.

The construction project has already been rubberstamped by the president, Goodluck Jonathan, who has earmarked the new bridge as a key move.

"It is one of those projects Mr President has accepted to designate special funding for, which is an outcome of the petrol subsidy removal and will also ensure there is no funding shortfall in the handling of the project," he is quoted by the news provider as saying.

He added that the president has also approved six major roads, "especially those ones that would link the six geo-political zones as priority projects that must be handled with dispatch within the next two years".

Category: Transport